May 20, 2015

Henry Poole & Co had the pleasure of contributing to The Savile Row Bespoke Association exhibition, Savile Row and America: a Sartorial Special Relationship. The event was hosted on May 14th in Washington DC by Sir Peter Westmacott, British Ambassador to the United States of America, at the historic British Ambassador’s residence at 3100 Massachusetts Avenue, NW. An original Lutyens house, the Embassy is considered one of the most exceptional in the world. Picture above shows Mr Simon Cundey and Mr Craig Featherstone at the British Embassy.

Curated by critically acclaimed author and life-long Savile Row aficionado, Nick Foulkes, the exhibition centres on the special relationship between Savile Row and the United States. It focuses on important commissions from famous Statesmen and Hollywood legends through to customers of today. The showcase demonstrated Savile Row’s position at the forefront of its craft, today catering to the bespoke needs of the style-conscious modern gentleman.
We took delight is showcasing 5 looks. The first being a replica of Sir Winston Churchill’s Single Breasted chalk stripe flannel suit + bowler hat. Sir Winston Churchill was a customer of Henry Poole & Co from 1905. In 2007 Poole’s invited Fox Brothers Ltd to weave the Winston Churchill chalk stripe flannel as homage to the great man. The second, a replica of William Randolph Hearst’s Single Breasted grey/blue striped suit. As a homage to both father and son, Henry Poole & Co asked a Yorkshire based British mill to weave a 10oz blue/grey super 100s and cashmere chalk stripe cloth inspired by a 1938 photograph of Hearst Jr posed in his office observed by his formidable father. The third, Pierpont Morgan court uniform + sword + hat. The fourth, a Single Breasted Park Tuxedo replica peak lapel 3 piece. As the inventors of the Tuxedo we simply had to include this in the exhibition. The fifth was a Double Breasted British Warm Coat. This was a replica of a British warm overcoat that Churchill wore to the Yalta conference, along with Roosevelt, Stalin during the 2nd World War. This is where you see the crossover from military wear into civilian wear.